Lexington Nursing Homes

Lexington nursing homes offer a place of residence for seniors and patients with rehabilitative or moderate to severe medical conditions. Nursing homes, also called skilled nursing facilities, have nurses, physicians, social workers, therapists and non-medical staff to administer periodic to continuous care to their patients.

While most nursing homes concentrate on a specific medical condition, Lexington skilled nursing facilities are most generally broken down into short-term and long-term care facilities. Short-term care focuses on rehabilitation services for patients recovering from a stroke, aneurism, heart attack, invasive surgery or fall related injury. Caregivers will map out an individualized plan for recuperating patients’ strength and functions through physical, respiratory, speech and occupational therapy. The goal of short-term stays is to help patients move to less inclusive care. This may mean patients can return to their homes or to assisted living or in home arrangements. Long-term care is dedicated to helping severely impaired patients. This includes patients with dementia, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, liver and heart health problems, multiple sclerosis or general physical decline. Physicians and nurses perform medical procedures such as blood testing, checking insulin levels or administering intravenous fluids. Non-medical caregivers are there to provide help with activities of daily living, which include eating, bathing, dressing and walking. Social workers are present to provide a level of companionship to long-term patients. Long-term patients also often improve enough to seek less inclusive levels of care, although some terminally ill patients will need end of life care.

Long-term SNF stays are usually due to a declining medical condition. Most short-term stays are prescribed by a doctor during a hospital stay due to an acute medical event. Some hospitals have skilled nursing facilities in their complex. If not, a patient’s physician will be able to recommend and approve a nursing care stay. Receiving the best hospital care, under the circumstances, is important for future short-term nursing patients because it is the initial period of recovery. In Lexington, the best hospital care can be found at Saint Joseph Hospital and Central Baptist Hospital.

Lexington nursing care costs just slightly more than the Kentucky state median. Semi-private and private SNF rooms have a monthly cost of $5,992 and $6,388. Homemaker services and home health aide both cost $3,337 per month. Assisted living facility bedrooms run $3,670 per month in Lexington. It is important for future nursing care patients to note the insurance limitations on SNF coverage. Medicare will only cover the first 100 days of a stay, Medicaid is not accepted at all locations and even some long-term care insurance plans place restrictions on coverage.

Seniors and their loved ones are often wary of nursing care. Aside from reports of negligence and abuse, the decision to move to nursing care is stressful for everyone involved. Not only do seniors have to deal with leaving their families and friends, but caregivers are also caught up in the situation. Seniors who believe they have the capacity to still live independently can be difficult to care for. Families with estate or inheritance disputes may embroil caregivers in the process. The best quality SNF personnel are well-trained to handle these situations while providing compassionate and dedicated social and medical services. Our site wants to inform seniors and their families of all the complex issues of nursing care so they can find a nursing care facility at the right location, cost and type of care.